What have we been doing?

Once again, time has flown by without a blog post. We have had horse show, riding open house, fall break and are gearing up for the next round of shows.  The Hunter Seat team placed third at our home show Oct 3^rd behind NC State and Duke but rallied back at UNC Wilmington to win. The dressage team had its first outing at NCSU Oct. 18^th finishing with a 3^rd place overall. Senior Claire Pollard earned the high point rider ribbon with a score of 76.429% in Training Level Test 2.

While I was traveling with the dressage team, the rest of the equestrian staff worked hard to put on a wonderful riding open house for prospective high school seniors. Friday night we hosted an information session and dinner on campus. Heather led a crew to decorate the patio by the lake which looked amazing. Administrators and members of the Faculty joined us to talk about the program, answer questions and visit with families. Lots of contacts were made with future students and we all came away thinking that the future of St. Andrews looks great. On Saturday, Seniors rode for the Equestrian staff and Juniors joined the staff at the Equestrian Center for tours and information. The feedback we have received from our guests has been fabulous. Several people commented on how our current students genuinely care for the horses.

Looking forward to this weekend, teams will be doing the fall clean up of Hasty Road on Saturday, the IHSA hunter seat team heads out on Sunday for a show hosted by UNC Chapel Hill and Duke and the entire dressage team travels with Liz and I for 2 shows at Averett University, leaving at o’dark thirty tomorrow. Next week, Pebbles and Liz and two students fly to California for the Path Int. conference. At home we are excited to be hosting a clinic with Bernie Traurig next weekend. 

Claire with her High Point Ribbon

RLAK Show, Alumni Weekend, and Open House

The RLAK horse show was a hit for all concerned this Saturday. Four members of the dressage team started off the show with a drill team ride to the theme from Indiana Jones. The horses were great and the riders put on a good display for the audience. The RLAK show followed with all riders winning a blue ribbon for completing the obstacle course set in the covered arena. Kate Sorgenfrei serving as judge and announcer awarded blue ribbons “for sitting in the middle”, “keeping heels down”, “2-point position” and a myriad of other accomplishments demonstrated by the riders. The RLAK community was well represented covering the ages of around 5 to 55.


Alumni weekend was in full swing on campus and many folks came back to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. Pebbles, Peggy and I enjoyed visiting with the class of 2003 (plus a few from 2002). At lunch time ten of them set off on a guided trail ride of the Equestrian Center followed by 3 more on Peggy’s golf cart. With a couple of exceptions many of these folks have not been on a horse in many years so it was really fun to see them warming up in the covered arena before heading out with Carla and Andrew as their escorts.

Once the trail ride had departed the participants of Open House arrived to talk about the program, meet the staff and tour the facility. Lots of great questions were asked and we enjoyed meeting these future students and their families.

In other news our colleague Heather Wile Lee had her baby this weekend. Baby Jase is doing well but Heather suffered complications following delivery and is now in ICU at Moore Regional Hospital. Her husband Philip and both their families are with her at the hospital staying at the Clara McQueen house in Pinehurst. We are keeping Heather, Philip, Jase and the families in our prayers and hoping for a complete recovery.

The ANRC competed for the National Championship this weekend finishing in 6th place. I'll have more information on that in a later post.

Volunteers and Instructors at the RLAK Show

The Drill Team; Bridget on Corky, Kristen on Jake, Elizabethe on Chico and Claire on Windsong

Special and his rider with Morgan, and Spenser



Big John with is rider and Hallie, Megan and Stephanie



Before the Alumni trail rider

Enjoying the facility!

Snow Last Weekend; This Weekend Rain

After last weekend’s snow we are looking forward to a wet weekend coming up and once again it is busy! Friday the western team hosts the last regular show of their competitive season at the equestrian center. They are looking to hold on to their lead 18 point lead over NCSU and qualify for Semi-Finals in Kentucky in March. Saturday is IHSA Western Regionals which qualifies individuals for Semi-Finals. Friday evening the team is holding a dinner on campus for the region. The year-end awards for western will be given out at this event.


Saturday the dressage team heads to Danville, VA for a double header show at Averett University to decide the regional winners in intercollegiate competition. The dressage team trails Averett by one point. With riders in contention in three of the four IDA divisions, this weekend’s shows should be intense.

Sunday the IHSA hunter seat team will travel to Eastern Carolina for the last regular show of their season. The hunter seat team has a 29 point lead over UNC-Chapel Hill with ECU just a few points back. This weekend will decide who takes the title of Regional Champion for all three disciplines and advances to the next level.

At home Saturday is Admitted Students Open House. We are looking forward to welcoming many future students and their families to the campus and the equestrian center.

Winter Weather Will Not Stop Us!

The cold wet winter weather is not slowing us down! Kelsi left yesterday with seven horses and various students to head to Raleigh for the RMI Hunter Jumper Show. Students will be going to the show working around their class schedule as much as possible. This weekend Carla and the western IHSA team will be competing in Sanford Saturday and Sunday. They are helping out by bringing horses, so Matt will be going with Carla on Saturday and Pebbles on Sunday to drive the 15 passenger van and horse trailer. At home we have a general open  house which includes several families interested in the equestrian program. We are all busy and hoping the weather gives us a break over the weekend!

Oh yes! Last night our facebook page hit 5,000 “likes” quiet a milestone! We celebrated by awarding the 5,000 person with an SAU saddle pad. Next milestone is 10,000, help us out by spreading the word!